Time to start the real work

It seems evident that I am going to need to change a few key aspects of my research. I had planned on taking the first week to do interviews individually during the evenings, but that does not seem possible. There’s only two people who could really translate for that, and they happen to be busy. All. The Time. It doesn’t seem logical to take that time from them. I also don’t think we could actually get the class participants to cooperate with that schedule. They all have a lot going on and don’t seem to stick to (or even make) long term plans very well.

I think that the best alternative is to ask Sarah to help write a questionnaire that the class could take right before we began. Then we only have to get everyone in the same place at the same time once and it’d be faster. I know Professor Aday prefered interviews, but I think this is the best way to make due.

In addition to interviews and running an adult first aid class, Sarah has asked me to take over science class these two weeks and teach health sciences to the first, second, and third graders. This was unplanned, but I am happy to help. I need someone to translate the classes, but taking care of the planning and prep is a big help for them.

Today was the first day of the children’s classes and we covered quite a bit. The first thing we covered was the definition of an emergency. When I asked for examples of emergencies kids in every class said “when you hurt your foot because a car runs over it.” This seems to be a common occurrence. After seeing how people drive here for a few days, I can see why. They act like there’s no traffic rules at all. It’s terrifying.

I also taught the kids how to identify someone who is unconscious and how to help them. In American first aid classes the first thing you’re supposed to do in most emergencies is call 911. However, there is no 911 on ambulances here. So we replaced that with “find an adult who can take you to a hospital.” The kids had a lot of fun with learning all the ways to carry someone who is hurt or unconscious. They were great volunteers and all the kids got to practice each technique. They liked it so much that at recess they were carrying each other all over the place. It was kind of adorable to see the lesson used like that.